Good Enough
by StarSweep
Summary: Ty's insecurities start to get the better of him over the years, along with ever growing difficulties that he has lost the drive to face. Now at the tender age of 16, he is left in a deep depression that he just can't seem to beat. Will he recover? Or will he go through with the thought of taking his own life...
1. Chapter 1

How was school?

For as long as Ty Archer could remember, this was a question he always looked forward to answering. He had always excelled in all his classes, which was never a difficult task for him. He had to thank his sharp mind for that, and of course being the product of two intelligent individuals helped tremendously.

Even as a child, Ty could vividly remember the confusion that graced his fellow classmates faces when dealing with "hard" classwork. For him, the thought was practically foreign. A simple math problem caused the other kids stress but for Ty, it was child's play.

This continued on for most of his school life. Sure, challenges would rear its ugly head in from time to time, but he didn't mind it. In fact, he gladly welcomed it. The bright young man would never stray away from a challenge.

At least- that's what he thought.

Ringworm Junior High was now but a distant memory taken over by a new competitor.  
Hookworm High.

Freshman year had been something Ty had looked forward to for ages. For one, he could finally reunite with Abby, who was already a Sophomore. Graduating from Ringworm was a great accomplishment for her, and while she and Ty had been happy about it, both were nonetheless saddened by the fact that they wouldn't be able to see each other in school until Ty graduated. But when he walked through the entrance of Hookworm, he spotted a flash of red hair and soon he found himself in a bone crushing hug from his older sister. Although he was embarrassed by the snickering crowd witnessing the scene, he gladly returned the embrace.

Along with the new challenging courses, a new school atmosphere, and new faces around every corner. It was all a brand new experience he was dying to dive into.

Time flew by, as Ty was now starting his Junior year.

All the past excitement he felt years prior had diminished overtime. It was a slow, gradual, painful progress. But it finally hit Ty Archer like a ton of bricks, making him feel crushed practically every waking moment.

To say he was miserable would be an understatement.

"So, how was school?"

Ty looked up from his untouched food towards the source of the voice. It was his mother, who smiled sweetly at him from across the dinner table.

How was school?

 _Kent punched me in the gut today. I barely payed attention in class. I didn't feel like going to the robotics club with Andy and Jasmine. I felt fucking empty all day. That's how was school, mother._

Ty shot her a fake smile, something he managed to master over the years.

"Interesting as always, mom." It took all his willpower for his reply to not drip with sarcasm. Instead, it rang with a false sense of joy, something that at one point had always been so sincere.

He grew tired of lying to his parent's faces everyday, but what could he do? He didn't want to worry them when they were already busy with their jobs and responsibilities. Abby had voiced some concern over Ty's odd behavior, whether it was his tired appearance or how withdrawn he could become. But he would always respond with a tooth grin and a snarky remark to ease her worries.

It was simple. As long as he flashed his bright smile and showed some level of enthusiasm, no one would have to worry.

And yet...The facade grew harder to keep up with each passing day.

* * *

 **Thank you to anyone who reads this, i'm sorry if the writing isn't that good. Hopefully i'll improve with each chapter.**

 **Until next time~**


	2. Freshman Year

Every year the freshman of Hookworm High were given a change to on a field trip early on in the year. It was mainly seen as a welcoming gift for the new students once they left junior high. This year the trip took place at a museum of science, all the way downtown.

Most of the freshman only came as an excuse to miss an entire day of class. But Ty and Andy thought of the trip as practically an equivalent as going to Disney World.

The two of them had grouped up with Naomi for the trip, which left Ty flustered even though she was sitting behind him on the bus. It didn't help that he currently had his mouth wide open as Andy sat examining the inside of it with a great amount of concentration etched on his face.

"Wait...hold on, is it- no." Sighing in defeat, Andy promptly closed Ty's mouth. " Your dentist really did a good job on you, I can't even tell where the crown is."

Naomi, who had been watching the scene in its entirety, gave Ty a look of concern. " You really need to be more careful next time. You just can't go running into statues like that."

Ty laughed awkwardly as he gave the worried girl a reassuring nod.

He had told his friends and parents that he had broken a few teeth after accidentally running full speed toward a statue, which to his relief, they all believed. In reality,the actual cause for his dental mishap came from a mission involving Sloppy Joe. The foul smelling oaf had elbowed Ty full in the jaw during their confrontation. It was far from pleasant as the memory was quite vivid, from the taste of iron invading his taste buds to the sensation of shattered teeth rattling around his sore mouth. At the very least, Joe actually seemed surprisingly remorseful at the sight of the young grossologist sprawled out on the ground, who cried in pain as he spat out tooth fragments and blood.

Suffice to say, Abby did not let Joe off the hook for that.

Ty couldn't help but wince at the memory. This definitely was not the first time he or Abby had gotten injured during a mission. He couldn't help but notice that their adversaries had been growing a bit more...malicious, over the years.

He shook off the thought, now wasn't the time for him to think about that right now. He was supposed to be having fun!

* * *

"I was in a rush- but now's not the time to worry about that. I'm pumped for this trip!" He grinned from ear to ear as he practically jumped in his seat, earning a giggle from Naomi and an equally excited cheer from Andy.

Everyone had finally been dropped off in front of the museum entrance. An impressively large, white cylindrical building stood in front of them. Various exotic flowers were scattered around the entrance, adding a sense of whimsy that made the museum stand out even more.

Ty stared in awe as he walked forward, almost in a trance. He stopped when he felt someone squeeze his arm, his heart raced as he hoped it was Naomi.

It was Andy, who looked absolutely giddy. Ty cocked his brow at the chubby boy, but he let it slide.

"Sooo, are you gonna actually stick with the plan?" Andy smirked as he noticed his friend's cheeks turning red. Ty looked back only to see that Naomi had stayed behind to talk with one of her friends.

"Yeah, I think I am."

"You THINK?"

"I KNOW. I know i'll ask her out." Ty puffed out his chest in a way to appear more confident. Andy wasn't buying it.

"You promise? You said the SAME thing last year on the Epcot trip."

Ty rolled his eyes and waved it off. "I promise. And besides, how was I going to ask her out when she literally saw me throwing up on one of the rides?

"Ty. You threw up on her. And the rides there aren't even intense." Ty scoffed at Andy's deadpan expression.

While he still felt pangs of nervousness at the thought of asking out Naomi, he had to admit that it wasn't as bad compared to junior high. The two of them had grown closer as friends over the year, and it got easier talking to her when he reminded himself to not think about how badly he liked her. He couldn't help himself, she was just so kind and thoughtful, absolute perfection.

He couldn't wait much longer.

* * *

He was going to take things a step further.

"I'm not going near it." Naomi stood behind Ty and Andy as they stood a few feet away from a darkly lit display.

They were at an underwater themed section of the museum. The displays had models of various sea creatures, along with a giant life sized blue whale that hung from the ceiling.  
Naomi had found it all interesting, but nonetheless she still didn't feel comfortable getting so close to the dark figure, she just couldn't make sense of what it could possibly be.

"Oh c'mon, don't you want to see what it could be?" Andy begged Naomi, who nervously twirled a strand of her long hair. She avoided their eyes as she gazed at a display of chubby white baby seals.

Ty noticed this and smiled. He knew Naomi was head over heels when it came to anything cute and cuddly, like baby animals or plush toys.

Andy elbowed Ty's hip, giving the raven haired boy a knowing glance. "Now's your chance." He silently mouthed.

With a nervous gulp, Ty placed a gentle (and shaky) hand on Naomi's shoulder. "Uh, Naomi? How about we go check out the planetarium?"

Her eyes darted from his to the dark display. She grimaced and quickly nodded, her glasses almost slipping off much to her embarrassment.

"You two go ahead, I've been aching to see the physics section." Andy smiled mischievously at Ty.

"Don't come back to the bus until you ask her out." He whispered seriously, which somewhat eased Ty's nerves thanks to the absurdity.

"You do that, we'll see you at the cafe at noon." And with that, Ty and Naomi walked upstairs to the planetary section. Naomi glances back at the mysterious display one last time, her lips tightened up nervously.

"OOOOH, Architeuthis!"

Ty looked over his shoulder to see Andy in front of the display. Naomi tilted her head in confusion while shot her a cheeky grin.

"Giant squid."

* * *

Ty and Naomi had casually strolled around the planetary section, making pleasant small talk here an there. Although it mainly consisted of Ty informing her about random facts about each planet they walked past. Naomi showed genuine interest in his tangents, giving him her full attention which she noticed made his face turn pinker and pinker.

Ty stopped in front of a model of a beige colored planet. He cleared his throat in an exaggerated fashion, earning a giggle from Naomi.

"Behold, my dear traveler-" he waved a hand over the planet and continued. "- the second planet from the sun. With surface temperatures reaching about 471 °C and PLENTY of active volcanoes scattered about...I give you-" he paused dramatically for a split second. "VENUS!"

Naomi playfully rolled her eyes, she couldn't help but find his cheesiness to be quite comical.

"Oh, I can't wait for humans to finally land there." She replied sarcastically as he took a closer look at the diagram.

"I see we have a comedian in orbit." He smirked, which made Naomi return the favor.

"Heh...Hey,isn't there a goddess named Venus?" She asked, causing Ty's smirk to fade as he froze.

"Uh, yeaaaaah. She's the goddess of beauty, fertility...love." The last word coming out more quietly than he wanted.

 _Smooth Ty, way to make it obvious!_

Naomi nodded slowly as he twirled her hair again. She seemed to be in deep thought, which made Ty feel even more anxious.

 _Crap, what's she thinking of!?_

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Naomi finally looked up at Ty. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes, trying her best to act confident.

"Ty...Be honest with me."

 _I'd rather not._

"...Kay." He mentally slapped himself.

"...Right. Okay, we've been friends for a few years now and...It's been great, I like being around you.." she nervously rubbed her arm, but she still kept her eyes glued on Ty's.

"...I like being around you too,Naomi...A- a lot actually..."

"R-really?...Well, it's always been um..obvious, that you liked me." This was punctuated by a strangled groan from Ty, who was leaning back against the rails.

 _I'm gonna fucking hurl, Christ on a pogo stick- IT"S EPCOT ALL OVER AGAIN!_

"...uh huh." Was all he could muster, there was no

way he was going to open his mouth even more at this current state.

Naomi shut her eyes and grabbed Ty's hand. He felt a bit better when he felt how clammy her small hands felt. At least he wasn't the only one.

"I-I..." she took a deep breath and finally let everything out in one garbled mess. "I'vealwayslikedyoutoo!"

Silence.

She hesitantly opened one eye when Ty hadn't responded. He stared at her like a deer in the headlights.

"Ty? Are you okay?"

And just like that dreaded trip to Epcot, history had repeated itself.

Ty had thrown up on Naomi again.

"You actually did it..? YES! Jasmine owes me 10 bucks!" Andy jubilated. The couple had finally met up with him at the cafe as promised, albeit a bit later than anticipated.

"Eeyup- Wait, you guys placed bets!?" Ty scowled at Andy, who gave him an innocent smile.

"Weeeeeell~"

Ty rolled his eyes and huffed, Naomi just giggled she gave her boyfriend a pat on the arm. On her lap laid a chubby seal plushy that practically hid her entire lower half. She had named it Venus.

"Awww, you even got her a gift,how thoughtful!" Andy gushed playfully at his blushing friend. "You guys even have matching shirts!"

The couple's eyes gazed momentarily at each other. Naomi burst out laughing while Ty grabbed Venus and hid his face in it's fluffy stomach.

Andy blinked in confusion. Then it hit him. "Oh...Ooooh, did you-again...?" Ty only groaned in response. "YES! Jasmine owes me ANOTHER 10 bucks!"

* * *

News spread like wildfire around the school at the news of the new relationship.

Their friend groups were all supportive, Abby in particular.

However, it turned out that a few people were less than thrilled.

Naomi's brothers all had given her a hard time when they were informed. They all simultaneously agreed that the "ladybug" was not worth her time or even man enough to be seen with her. It was made obvious whenever Ty would visit their home. The three jocks would make snide remarks to the younger boy when Naomi wasn't around, threatening him with violence if he so much as did anything to their little sister.

Kent took the news just as badly. The bully had always liked Naomi, it was a mystery as to why he would like someone as modest and timid as her. His ego just wouldn't allow someone as dorky as Ty Archer to just steal his prize like that. Because of this, Kent and his friends made it their mission to mess with Ty. It started innocently enough, mainly name callings and shoves around the halls. But later on they would slowly start to amp up the bullying. Name calls became personal insults and threats, shoves became punches.

But Ty would not let it get to him. None of them were worth his time, as long as he focused on his relationship with Naomi, he would be fine.

He told himself he was strong enough to handle it all.

* * *

 **Omg wooo chapter 2! Thank you too everyone who commented omg, it seriously boosted my confidence so much, you're all amazing! 3**

 **This chapter was pretty tame tbh, I did try to leave some foreshadowing of things to come later on though. But yeah, this was pure fluff before shit starts to hit the fan ;u;**


End file.
